»Loud & Luise«

NB: The German term “wilde Ehe” (wild marriage) refers to the situation of two persons who live together, possibly even have children together, without being legally married. (Perhaps something akin to today’s undocumented immigrants in the USA.) Previously this term applied only to heterosexual couples; the English “living in sin” is a rough equivalent. (Of course LGBTQ folks are still considered to be living in sin by many countries, cultures and religions, no matter whether single or partnered.) On June 30 the German Bundestag voted to legalize “marriage for all.” Luise’s comments…

Recently, on February 5, 2017, the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl for the fifth time; the following Tuesday they were celebrated in Boston with a massive confetti parade. 100 million viewers worldwide are said to have watched the Super Bowl.

We too were among these millions, and despite a completely discouraging first half we hung on to the end, when the Pats caught up in the fourth quarter from a score of 3 to 28 against the Atlanta Falcons and claimed a historic 34-28 victory.

All well and good, but why should a feminist be interested in such a brutal male sport? Like boxing,…

I returned to Boston at the beginning of July, and without a doubt I’ve watched too much television in the last two weeks: first the Republican and then the Democratic Conventions (RNC and DNC), in both cases Monday through Thursday evenings from eight till shortly before midnight. Why? It was exciting theater, or better, a Great Spectacle. And of course I’m “with her” and wanted not only to watch her make history, but also to find out how she would be attacked.

The question that continues to preoccupy me: how is it possible that the contest between Hillary and the Donald – actually a…

The Brexit has created all sorts of problems. One that hasn’t yet been noticed: it shifts the linguistic equilibrium. The EU distinguishes between official languages and working languages. It has 24 official languages and 3 working languages, namely – in alphabetical order – English, French and German. Every resident of the EU can appear before its committees and institutions and speak in her own mother tongue without having to stumble around in a foreign language. I once gave a speech in German to the European Council and was simultaneously translated, by interpreters sitting in glass…

Pair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union (ISU) regulations describe pair teams as consisting of "one lady and one man." The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals, and throw jumps. (Wikipedia).

These defining remarks from the always helpful Wikipedia are – as is often the case – linguistically very interesting:

First of all, Wikipedia finds it appropriate to explain to us precisely what is meant by a “pair.” In this day and age, after all, there…